Obama visit to West Bank sparks angry protests

Mar 21 - Demonstrators scuffle with police and burn an effigy of US president Barack Obama as he sits down to talks with Palestinian leaders. Andrew Raven reports.

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Angry protests greet U.S. President Barack Obama on his first official visit to the Palestinian territories.
In the Gaza town of Rafah, demonstrators chanted anti-American slogans and burned an effigy of the U.S. leader.
They accused Obama of letting Israel - a long-time Washington ally- run rough-shod over their dream of statehood.
(SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) JUMA'A AL-GHUL, GAZA RESIDENT AND PROTEST ORGANISER, SAYING:
"We are sending one message, that this visit is rejected and it like many other visits that didn't bring anything to the Palestinian nation. There were many visits before but there was nothing new."
Obama is in the West Bank to meet with Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority.
The two were expected to discuss the decades-long conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.
But Obama has made it clear that he is not pitching any new peace initiatives.
Instead, he said his first presidential visit to Israel and the occupied West Bank is a "listening tour."